Flash Back
by Dark SpellMaster
Summary: When Barry Allen created the new DC Universe he missed one small factor, that the universe itself might reject the new version of itself. In Limbo the former superheroes try to find a way back home, while the Risen watch the world fall to destruction, and two children, Damian Wayne and Helen Jordan are about to embark on a journey to save the Universe.
1. Issue 0: Tears in the Fabric

**_Flash Back –A Maxi series_**

**Author's Note and Copyright:** None of the Characters in the DC Universe belong to me and I'm only using them for entertainment purposes.

* * *

It started out as a misguided attempt to save one single, person's life, and ended up changing the fate of the universe. This was how they saw the actions of Barry Allen, the man called the Flash. A single act that caused a ripple from which the center of change occurred, a change they didn't want. He had saved his mother from death and then undid this by stopping himself from defeating his rival Thawne, the Reverse –Flash. In doing so he'd woken up to a new world, one that wasn't completely created by him.

They had been watching the event unfold, the slow deliberate change of their universe, though the actions of one mortal man. They were intrigued by it and let it happen. They wanted to see if he could fix his mistake. He did, but with consequences. The world wasn't the same, no one remembered the past, and things that should have been, were not.

They watched as the heroes changed, morphed into beings that they had not been before, while others faded, unknown to the man that had started it. They saw this coming and opened the land where others who faded dwelled. It seemed right to do so at the time, and they watched and waited. They saw the man called Superman lose his parents, quit his job and become more reckless. They saw the Amazons, women of peace, become snakes due to actions that seemed more the will of the Gods that they worshiped, then of their own doing. They saw the creation of a group of young Teens, not by the ones that started it, but by their juniors, and then saw as the one that was their leader become corrupted into a twisted version of his past noble self.

They contemplated the rebirth of a society of justice that had once helped fight during a world at war, who had been decimated by a being that had no equal. Mentors that should have been were no longer that, and the children that would have taken over their legacy were no more. The famed league of justice was established, but in only five years, and then they watched as infighting erupted between the members. They saw gods kiss and fall in love, and questioned what end game there was to this union?

They turned their eyes to the heavens and saw the guardians lose the growth that they had gained. They grumbled at the alterations in the corps that patrolled the galaxy, and then they noticed the rips in the universe. Tiny at first, thin small tears in the fabric of space that no one could have noticed unless they looked. It was during the time that they looked away that a child died by the hands of his mother's creation, leaving a hole in his father's heart. Death came and went, heroes constantly shifted and changed from their missions and it seemed like any unity that had once been built between fellows was all but tossed aside.

The Risen were not pleased. This had not been their will, but the will of another to help fix things, and they realized that such a thing could not stay. For the will of one over the will of many was not how the universe should be. They came from a land with no name, created eons before the worlds that now existed. Their past was hidden in the souls of every man, woman, child, creature, and being that resided within the universe. Agents of the Presence who only hoped for peace and harmony among men; they sought no worship nor did they feel themselves worthy of it. They simply wished to guide men to their choices and hoped that they would find it in them to found a future where all, once more, lived in an age where magic, energy, and matter knew no boarders.

For millenniums they had been watching the multiverse, from its infancy to its rebirth. They had taken actions to sustain themselves and others that were rejected by this new world. They placed the others in a pocket, a ghost zone of sorts, called Limbo, and here those of the past world remained. Some vanished from that Limbo in time, others were stuck, unable to move forward or back and the Risen waited. They waited to see what would happen, waited to know how this change had occurred so rapidly. They were never satisfied with answers, and eventually saw the riffs that had begun in the distant edge of the universe.

In their land, far from the strange world of Limbo and the new universe, they sat and debated what should be done. Their rulers, those that came from the deepest emotions of man and the Presence, found themselves at a loss. The Word, a being made from the very Presence and imbued with the gift of promises, honor, and self-sacrifice from man's will, sat with his head held high, his lion eyes upon the feline face showed no emotions to discern what he thought. Beside him, sitting quietly was his lady, the most powerful yet the humblest of all the Risen, his wife, Sacrosanct. A being that was born from the most holy and honored of man's mind, reflected in the form of a woman of the purist white light, motherly with a crown of lace upon her head, and in a constant state of being with child, calmly closed her eyes and listened to all the words that were spoken. The Kali like Augera, a being of blue with many arms and eyes, that was born of the will of man to focus upon the world, one who wishes to see things as they are or could be, rested on her stone in a crossed leg position. She, who was the gatekeeper to all other realities past, present and future, scowled some as the debate raged on.

"We must do something soon," insisted Mistos, a Risen that had only recently returned. She had once left them to seek out answers because her heart had rejected her reflection. "If it is true that one has taken it upon themselves to alter this world, then it must be rectified."

"Our job is to watch and guide Mistos, not to alter or change, it is the will of man," another Risen said, his hands rubbing his bulging stomach gently. Mistos frowned from behind her veil and looked up at Augera.

"And what gate shall open if this continues? Tell us Augera what you have seen."

"I have seen many possibilities, Lady Mistos," the blue gatekeeper said, as four of her eight eyes opened. "Some good, some bad, but the fact remains, the tears in the universe are happening, and, in time, if not corrected, all will be destroyed."

Mistos nodded and turned to the rotund man, "B'lai, you know as well as I do that such a thing can only happen if something other than the will of man has changed the shape of the universe. If the tears spread they could come to us, and my fears, my foolish dreams in the past of the land coming to doom, will be a reality. We must act in some way."

"But we cannot simply wave our hand and change thing," B'lai told her and shook his head, then glanced around at the nine people that joined them. He stared at a woman who looked much like a tree, her hair the leaves and her feet, roots. "Életfa, tell us how this came to pass. What is the condition of the world as of now?"

Életfa bowed her head and her leaves rustled, her feet dipped down into a floating bowl of water that reflected the new Earth 1 and Earth 2, thus she spoke though the whisper of wind though her leaves.

"The worlds split, its heart beating and screaming as changes came to pass. The actions of a man, a blur of red called the Flash, altered the past to save his mother. Here time diverged and shifted, the world becoming a wreck of it, and only when he corrected his mistake did things change. However in the correction he did not keep things as they should have been and his speed altered the stream again, resetting things to a point and causing a new line to diverge."

"It seems that this change was the will of one then?" an old man with many floating mirrors around his head said as he peered through one.

"No," whispered Életfa, as her leaves rustled once more. "It was not. While he stared it, many voices called out but were twisted by another. One that once was a friend and now has found herself steeped in sin."

Mistos father, a man called Awl, stood beside her, crouching slightly as he stared up at the tree woman. "I do not like where this is going."

"Nor do I father," Mistos whispered to him as Életfa continued, her roots swaying gently in the water.

"The heroes of that world do not recall their pasts, and now only seek one route. Those that only have one of themselves know of this change and have used it for their advantage altering the second world with their armies. Darkness creeps ever closer, and _that one_ hides in the shadows to pull them apart." The winds quickened suddenly as the tree woman raised her hands and turned her head skyward. "If the riffs remain and are unaltered, then as Augera says the worlds will die. Many will perish, and all will suffer."

The Word growled and Sacrosanct nodded to her husband as she opened her eyes and smiled.

"Yes, I too wish the Spectre were here. His heart was true to the will of the Presence, but we should not be hasty my love. We must guide the actions of others, not bend them to our will." She glanced at the man with the many mirrors and inquired. "What of the other children in Limbo, how do they fair, Wolmen?"

"As well as they can my lady," said the strange man as he waved his hand in a circle around one and made it grow even larger, so large that it soon covered half his upper body. He peered out into the nothing, focusing in on the many men and women that roamed around the whiteness looking for some way to leave. Some had tired of tears, others were still crying, not sure where they were or where their loved ones had gone to.

The man scanned the area until he found a place where a tiny group of people sat in a circle around a small child, a girl, no more than eleven, dressed in a pink night gown with glowing stars, sleeping peacefully. Her head lay upon the lap of a black haired woman dressed in a black uniform with stars covering it, who had watched over her diligently since she had arrived. A man in red with yellow wings upon his head had taken off his mask to reveal sharp blue eyes that locked with the woman's, as if asking a silent question only the two of them could understand. The woman shook her head and the man sighed sitting down across from her.

Beside him sat a dark haired man with two tattoos scared over his right eye, in a costume with brush stokes swirled in black over red, patted his shoulder and smiled, a means of comfort for an old friend. The red head smiled slightly then went back to his pensive look. All the while a blonde girl in black and purple and an Asian beauty in black, both bearing the mark of a bat upon their chest watched the motions between them. A boy of nine with brown hair wearing a superman t-shirt glanced over to the two girls, the blonde waved and smiled while the black haired one nodded. Though she didn't smile there was an understanding in her black eyes that made the boy grin at her.

Wolman looked up at Sacrosanct and waved his hand to reduce the mirror. "They are as they were. The Redeemer rests upon the lap of the woman called Troia, while the others watch and wait. Some have given up hope; others seem less jaded, though, there are those that still wish to fight for their freedom."

"It seems time may be upon our side, or not," she mused gently and looked at Mistos. "You recall when he first came to us and we learned of her, do you not Mistos?"

"Yes, I was the one that lead him to his path, as he in turn led me to mine. But he is no longer that being, my lady. The man that was the Spirit of Redemption is now a man again, Hal Jordan, and is living a life that he feels has fulfillment."

"Indeed, I wonder who's though it is," the queenly woman tilted her head. "His own, or the will of another hoping to give him a life they feel he wants."

Wolman sighed as he shifted his mirrors to look down at Hal and shook his head, "So many mysteries to answer my Lady, and we do not even know where to begin. Is there a way to use our avatar? Can we awaken her?"

"If we do," Awl reminded him in a soft but firm tone, "we could collapse the world that is there keeping the others safe."

"And that is not what we want," Augera chimed in as she shifted her arms and grew still again. "My lady there is also the issue of the girl's desires. She is still but a child, how can we expect her to have the ability to know what to do?"

"Indeed," Mistos added in with a nod, "we cannot expect much from a sleeping being. Her training stopped the moment he was taken from his side."

"Yes, but that was our choice. Her powers were disrupted when he left, and then she too was taken away. Cast into that new world for a brief time, and then returned to us in the state she is in now." Sacrosanct posed as she furrowed her brow. "We cannot take actions of our own, doing so is not our way. It must be the will of the sum, not the will of the one." –She glanced at her husband –"What say you my love?"

Again The Word growled and snarled, she smiled, "You are right. We should not be thinking of how to do something, but rather in what way can we help guide her to the path that she will know what to do."

Once more The Word growled only this time the two locked eyes and Sacrosanct knew that he was serious. Her voice fell low and she gave a slow nod to him.

"Yes, I think it is time to talk to her, but I don't know if she is yet ready to discuss the girl. They had bonded, and I fear that seeing her again will hurt her."

Snarl and growl, came the reply from The Word and Sacrosanct's face became determined as she held her chin up.

"You are right. Materna is a woman of strength. She will help, regardless of her feelings." To Augera she added, "Please bring Materna Minxx here to us. Tell her it is of the utmost urgency."

Within an instant a woman with brown hair piled up atop her head, cat eye glasses, in a mauve and black Victorian dress appeared before the group. Her blue eyes took in everything, and she pushed up her glasses before promptly inquiring, "What reason does my lady Sacrosanct have for calling me here?"

"We seek your advice Materna, about the Redeemer."

Materna blinked, the only proof that the comment had startled the normally sure nanny. Not so long ago she was watching the child that now slept in limbo, the one called the Redeemer, though she knew her simply as Helen Jordan, a girl that had two futures sewn into her soul, one of destruction and one of salvation, and the child that the Presence had chosen as the avatar. She cleared her throat as she readjusted her glasses.

"And what reason do we have to speak of the Redeemer? I thought it was agreed that until the right time she would remain in hiber…" a growl from The Word cut her off and she looked at Sacrosanct who waved her hand.

"As my husband stated, there is not much time as of now. Riffs are forming in the fabric of the universe and are threatening to break down everything."

"Riffs?" she inquired and crossed her arms, "How perfectly vulgar."

"Indeed," Sacrosanct smiled at her.

"And how did such a thing occur? I can tell you that it was not the fault of any of the children I have helped raise my lady, for if it is, they will be quickly reminded why it is not wise to make Miss Minixx angry."

Életfa waved her leaves, "I assure you Miss Minixx it is not the actions of your charges, but the actions of another that is causing this problem."

"We need to know if the Redeemer is well enough for a task she must undertake." Mistos explained to her and Materna turned to finally regard the veiled woman.

"That task being?"

"The reconstruction of this universe," Sacrosanct told her softly and Materna sucked in a breath. She wasn't ready for this, not at all. Helen was a child, barely eleven. In the time she'd been teaching her she'd been a fast learner, curious even, but when the Spectre had changed hosts and that was where the real trouble started. Helen had returned to her living parents, things had shifted, partly by her own doing.

Materna could never forget the night that Helen told her she'd heard the feelings of Hal's friends, of the need of the Green Lanterns, and, as a child would want to make her Uncle happy, she gave him his desire, she helped allow his body to be brought back. Unfortunately in her haste she'd forgotten to make sure he remembered things, and, fearing for her ward Materna had asked The Word to remove their memories. But Helen's powers proved too strong and it was decided that Materna needed to teach her while she slept. This had worked, until the fool, Barry Allen had altered things once more on his own selfish whims, and because of this Helen's powers had gone haywire affecting things in the universe while the world was dealing with the sudden change in the past.

She recalled the moment when the girl had twisted a planet, made it become uninhabitable due to her powers catching with the Source Wall and accelerating her abilities to the point where her young mind could not fathom how to limit it. It was then that Materna had broken her own rules about where her feelings concerning the girl were drawn, and had gone to her in her time of need. Her own Uncle, the man she promised to never leave, didn't even hear her pleas for help.

"What do I do?" she pleaded to Materna. This innocent cocky child who was more willing to jump off the carpet to meet the beings of a distant world then learn of it from a book, was begging, something Materna never thought Helen would ever do. "Please…I'm scared. Uncle Hal, where is he? My mom and Dad, my brother and sister? What's happening Materna…Please tell me? Why can't I control myself?"

"Changes," was all she could tell Helen. She worried that trying to explain in detail how everything was in disarray would only make it worse for her. The child could already see it, sense it, and it was driving her to the breaking point and over into madness. So with that in mind, and the tears that the girl shed, Materna did what Materna did best, and took control of things. She connected with Helen, became one with her mind, and set things on the planet right. Then she took Helen with her back to the place in time where the temple was, and sat with her on a chair stroking her hair to calm the child down.

Everything was silent, until Helen asked, "Miss Minixx where do I go from here?"

"To sleep child, and dream…dream of a place where nothing exists, a world of pure white and peace," and Helen did. When she did Materna did the only thing she could, she cast a chant to keep her in that state, so that others could be brought there. Then the Risen placed Helen in Limbo to rest.

Materna hesitated and then clucked her tongue. "Is there no other way to fix this problem?"

"None, the ones that would have the powers are now in limbo or have lost their skills," she was told by Wolman. Again Materna clucked her tongue and sniffed.

"I see," she pondered and considered her options. Helen wasn't going to just wake up, the sleep she had been in was there to keep her mind from falling apart. The thing was, she knew that there had to be a way to keep the girl calm, something to make her stay focused. She looked at her rulers and inquired, "Is there a way for her to have assistance in this task? Someone who could, mold her, or rather guide her though it, one that already had been part of this new world and the last?"

Mistos raised her brow and Materna smirked. "There is one isn't there?"

"Yes, a boy, recently who was affected by a relic that was created by those that believed us to be their ancestors."

"And how was this child affected?"

"His soul was captured by it when he died."

"Died?" she inquired, this was turning out to be rather interesting. Mistos waved her hands, her voice calling to the songs of the ancients that they had come from. Images flooded Materna's mind of a boy, no more than ten, racing off to help his mentor, a young man that had trained him in his time of need, and his father, defeat the woman he called mother. But this had all come to a tragic end, the boy trying to do the right thing, fight against his past actions and training, was killed by a twin clone of him who had been created by his mother for just the purpose of making the lover who had scorned her fall into utter agony and despair. The boy now resided inside a cube that contained what was left of him, his body buried deep under the ground. She could sense that this child was someone that Helen could learn from, and in turn him from her. It was perfect.

"This boy," she looked at The Word and Sacrosanct, "This child, he may…no he IS the key to waking the Redeemer. I believe that he would be the best hope in having her find a way to right what is wrong in the universe."

"Will she be up to the challenge?" Mistos asked and Materna sniffed at her.

"Who do you think I am, I am Materna Minixx, and I have raised Thousands of Risen; I have no doubt that the Redeemer will be able to fix the world and that this boy, this…Damian Wayne, will be the key to unlocking her abilities and will to do so."

"Then we only need the Word, to show her the way to him…" said Sacrosanct. In an instant the lion headed man opened his mouth and let forth a roar that shuddered the universe, made the heroes in Limbo shiver, and woke Damian from his slumber inside the Ouroboros cube.


	2. Issue 1 Part 1: Welcome to Limbo

**Flash Back: Issue 1, Part 1**

_**AN:**_ _None of this belongs to me and is owned by DC. Trying my hand at comics isn't easy._

* * *

The pain had been unbearable. Any normal kid would have given up after the first few hits, but he wasn't normal. He was Robin, a fighter for justice like his father; he was Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne –the man that was Batman –and Talia Al Ghul –daughter of the Demon's head, leader of the League of Assassins, and head of a criminal empire. He was not about to go down so easily. The beating hurt but he knew how to take it. Nightwing…Richard, was down, taken out by a well-timed punch by his now grown twin clone brother, a monster called Heretic, as was the dolt Drake, the former Robin and his stepbrother. So he was on his own against the Frankenstein that seemed intent on harming the woman, Ellie (was that her name? He didn't have time to remember and didn't really care) who had wound up in the fight. He was her only hope, and he would prove that he was the heir to his Father; he would live up to the pride that his Father felt for him.

It was the bullets that had slowed him down, bullets and arrows that his Mother allowed to pierce him. The fact that Heretic injured his spine, which had already been broken once and re-enforced with steel, only added to the problems and his vision was starting to grow blurry. After everything he'd done, everything he strived to be, this was how he was going to be taken down. He knew it, he was afraid, and no one was going to save him. He had to think, had to react, but there was nothing to do, and the beast threw him through glass and as he plummeted Damian found himself impaled on the sword of his would be brother. He felt it slide through his body, the tissue tearing as the blade cut through him. Excruciating pain, like nothing he had ever felt before, cold cocked him with the force of a semi-tractor trailer, and then he went into shock. His body shut down but he could still see.

He saw Ellie with the cube, saw Heretic walk away after he disingenuously threw his body down on the ground like it was nothing more than a sack of ground meat, and then…he saw his Father, Batman, leaning over him, looking down on his face as he felt the larger man lift his crippled corpse up gently. Damian could see the pain and shock in his eyes. He wanted to say something, tell him something, anything, but he couldn't speak. All he could do was watch as his Father's face faded into black before his eyes.

That's when the flash came, and everything dissipated. Damian wasn't sure how long he was out. Hours, days, weeks? He sat up fast, which he decided had been an idiotic move after he felt a wave of nausea hit him, and tried to get his bearings. He was still in his uniform, the red jerkin stained with blood but there was no wound, which surprised him slightly. Damian ran his hand over where the sword had impaled him and twitched, there should have been a large hole where the saber had sliced through him, but there was nothing there.

Tearing off his mask the boy wonder turned and twisted in as many directions as he could to get a handle on just where he was. Everything was white, silent, and vast. Glancing up he saw no sky, to the right looked the same as the left, and the only reason he knew there was ground was because he was sitting on it.

"Father!" he called out, testing to see if he had a voice and was grateful to hear the sound of it, the silence was becoming an irritant. He listened, and when there was no reply he tried again, "Father?!...Richard?" still nothing, "Pennyworth!..." and in a softer voice, "Drake?...Todd"

Damian's voice seemed to trail on and on forever, never echoing and never being answered. He clenched his fist and dug his gloved fingers into his palm, then called again, "Father Answer Me! Mother! Is this your trick?"

Still when there was no reply he became scared and took a deep breath. This wasn't normal, this place wasn't normal at all, and he didn't like it. He wanted to leave, that instant, but he didn't know which way to go. There was no sense of direction, no way to tell where he'd started and where he could stop. Anger took hold and he punched the ground, again and again, but heard no sound reverberating off the solid floor beneath his fist.

Damian beat his fists till he felt blood in his gloves, and then pounded more as tears ran down his face. He was dead, that was the only conclusion, and this was the afterlife. He was alone, dead and no one would be coming for him. Exhausting himself the young boy wonder pulled up his knees, wrapped his arms around them, and put his head down trying to rest and hoping that somehow things would change.

* * *

"So what do we do now?" Wally asked running a hand through his red hair as he stood up. He'd been sweeping the perimeter that they had set up in the "White zone", as Garth had dubbed, it for the third time since he had woken up and just got back to report to the group. All was quiet on the western front and nothing seemed out of the ordinary to the south or east, he just had to go north and then he could take a break. Being the fast man alive was great normally, what wasn't so great was when you could run for miles and never find an end to where you were running to.

Donna glanced up at him and sighed. Her brows furrowed and a contemplative shadows cast over her normally elegant face. Wally asked this question daily, and each time she could give him no answer. She'd been one of the first to wake up in the nothingness, along with Garth and the two had set about finding the others, it was because of this that Wally hoped she would know more than he did…she didn't. In fact if anything she knew less than him given that she'd been the one that had volunteered to be the sleeping girl's pillow and couldn't leave the spot for fear of disturbing her.

"Well?" Wally again inquired and Donna shook her head.

"Right now, I don't know Wally. We know that they come and look in on us, but I can't tell you why," She gave him a weak smile, "Any idea if there are new people coming in? Or any changes to the white?"

"Nope," Wally shook his head, "Same problem as before, a whole lot of nothing and space that goes on and on."

"Well it could be worse, it could be that there's a whole lot of something's and that they go on and on forever," Stephanie pointed out and Wally snorted, but gave a smile.

"Not funny Batgirl, I see you have Dick's sense of humor."

"Huh, never thought I did." She smiled as Garth stood up. For the past hour Tempest had been monitoring the sleeping girl and seeing if there was any indication if she had a spell or something placed on her. He scowled some and rubbed his neck as Stephanie raised her head to him, "Something wrong Tempest?"

"No, yes…not sure."

"Not sure? Something up with Sleeping Beauty there?" Wally motioned to the girl as he walked over to his old companions. Garth gave a slight nod and lowered his voice so the three younger heroes couldn't hear.

"It's like she's in a coma, but not really. Her body is functioning normally, but there's some sort of disconnect with her mind and her physical form, and I don't know why or how long that's been going on."

"So brain dead?" Wally inquired bending down to look over the girl. His mind moved as fast as his body, retaining things that he'd learned just by reading books and studying up. Material that could take years for one person could take days or hours for him to learn and keep a memory of. One of his cases had made him have to learn about sleeping disorders and coma patients. This girl showed signs of both, but at the same time it didn't feel like her problem was something of a physical nature, that was why he had Garth watch her, his connection to magic was the key. If anyone could figure out some way to get her up and about he was sure it was Garth.

"No, not at all," Tempest knelt down beside him and pointed around her eyes. "REM, she's dreaming so she's not in a deep sleep."

"Dreaming?" came the voice of the boy near them. The trio turned their heads to look at Chris who had moved closer. Wally swore softly in his head, the kid had super hearing thanks to being kryptonian, he should have figured he would hear them. Cassandra looked up too at this as Chris asked again, "Is she dreaming of something?"

"Yes," Garth told him, "But we don't know what."

"So she's not dead," Cassandra asked and Garth shook his head.

"No, just sleeping, but it's not as deep as I thought. I had hoped that we could find something out from her, but I can't read minds."

Wally rubbed his neck, "Wish J'onn was here…"

"Or M'gann," Stephanie added.

"They both could have been helpful in this case," Garth muttered and crossed his arms contemplating their next move.

"Let's go over things again, maybe we missed something the first time," Donna suggested as Garth and Wally sat down creating a semi-circle around Donna. "So what do we know for sure?"

"Well," Garth started looking over at the sleeping child. "We know that when you and I came here _she_ already was here, but we don't know who she is and how long she's been here?"

"We also know that this space seems to be endless and that while we can talk any other sound, like footsteps, doesn't exist here." Wally pointed out as he considered things. "Then there's the fact that there doesn't seem to be an exit."

"We retain our powers," Donna commented and stroked the girl's head. "And we're sure that she may be the center of this place. So wherever we are it's not causing trouble with our abilities."

"Right and we know that people keep showing up, but at first they don't know how they got here and in some cases don't recognize us, but we know them." Stephanie chimed in an thinned her lips. "Weird thing is I don't remember coming here, I just woke up."

"Me too," Chris said and pulled his knees up. "Do you think my Dad will find us?"

"You mean Superman?" Wally asked and Chris nodded. The ginger felt guilt creeping in. He wasn't even sure if there was a way for Clark to get to them, and he didn't know if anyone was at all looking given that there had been no way for them to hear from anyone on the outside, but he wasn't about to tell Chris that. Reaching over and messing up the boy's hair Wally smiled gently, "I'm sure that he is."

Chris nodded, a look of determination lingered in his blue eyes. Everyone there knew that Chris wasn't blood related to the Kents, but he was their family and Wally knew that if they knew he was missing he was damn sure that both of his parents would do everything they could to find him.

"So we can safely assume that whatever drew us here wasn't of our own doing." Donna noted and looked to Cassandra, "Any thoughts, Black Bat?"

Cassandra closed her eyes and seemed to be pondering things, then she shook her head. "No idea. But, maybe she's making this place?"

"You mean like she's dreaming it and that's why we're still here?" Chris asked and she nodded, "That's kind of cool."

"It is, but it's also dangerous if it's true," Garth pointed out. "If she is making this place up, that means when she wakes up there might be a shift in the environment, which could be good or bad."

"Good or bad?" Cassandra questioned and Garth nodded.

"Yes. Think of it like a puzzle. If she wakes up and everything stays the same then that's good, the pieces fit, but if she wakes up and the world starts to break up, well then…"

"That's bad for us because we don't know where we can go," Stephanie continued and Cassandra nodded.

"We need to find a way out," she said in a serious tone.

"We're trying to. Only problem is someone keeps spying on us," Wally muttered and crossed his arms. "We don't know where they're looking from, but it feels like there's eyes on us when we least suspect it."

"Can they hear us?" Stephanie asked the crease on her brow increasing.

"I don't know, why not ask them when they next show up," Wally rubbed his eyes. He was exhausted. "I don't know if there's anything else we can do right now."

"Check the north," Cassandra suggested.

"You offering?" Wally raised an eyebrow and she nodded. He gave her a weak grin, "Okay, just keep up as best you can. There's nothing there to swing from around here."

Cassandra gave a sharp nod, and then everyone went into their own thoughts to figure out what to do.


	3. Issue 1 Part 2: Why do you talk so much?

**Flash Back Issue 1 part 2**

_**AN and Copyright:**_ _I own nothing! Helen Jordan is a character from DC's Spectre run from 2001 to 2003, age wise she's older then Damian by a year. _

* * *

From where he sat hunched over Damian could see enough around him to at least keep an eye out for an attack. He figured this had to be something his Mother had done to him. There was no doubt in his mind now that she only cared about her goals and needs, not his nor those of anyone else, but a part of him still wanted her to give a damn that he was dead.

His hand hurt from where he'd hit the ground, though he knew his healing would take care of it. He was a fast healer, something the other Robins weren't, which made him better in any case. So why was he the one that was dead? The question nagged at him, what had he done wrong? It had to have been the loss of blood, that was the only thing he could think of that had weighed him down, that…and the arrows. He shivered in the silence and closed his eyes.

_Sleep would be nice_, he thought. _Just a short rest, nothing much, I just need to get some sleep._

He had just closed his eyes when he heard a noise. It was soft, like a whisper, barely there, but he was sure he'd heard it. Craning his head he listened again, and heard it a second time. It was a voice, he couldn't make out the words but it was a voice. By the tone he could tell that it was calling, for what he wasn't sure, but it was calling out. Carefully getting up he checked to see if anything had come with him to this weird place.

"_Tech._ Nothing," Damian muttered as he tensed up. He wasn't in the mood for a fight, not after what had happened, but he wasn't about to let anyone attack him again. Readying for whatever was coming, Damian took a steadying breath than called out, "Hello?!"

The noise stopped, and for a heartbeat he cursed himself for answering, then, to his surprise, a call came back. "Hi! Is someone there?"

The voice sounded closer now, "Um…did you call me?"

_Call you?_ Damian was puzzled and didn't dare relax as he shouted back, "Who are you?"

"I should be asking you that," the voice countered closer still, he could tell it was a girl's voice. In the distance he could make out a pink something moving against the white. The thing paused and seemed to be looking around, then it stopped and he realized that it had spotted him. "Ah there you are!"

Adrenaline rushed through his body as his fight or flight instinct kicked in. He wanted to run, get away from the person, or thing, coming, but he also wanted to stay and see who or what, it was. Crouching down to keep himself ready to tackle and attack should the thing be dangerous, Damian waited until it got closer, then, when it was only a few feet from him, he slowly got up.

Standing before him was a girl in a pink nightgown with, what he assumed was, glow in the dark stars all over it. Someone, he didn't quite remember who, had once told him that kids wore such ridiculous clothing, especially girls, he didn't see the point. Her brown hair hung over her shoulders and she waved at him. He glanced down at her feet, she was shoeless.

"Hi! I'm glad I found you!" said the strange girl and she took a step forward, Damian tensed again and she stopped. "Um are you okay?"

"Who are you," he demanded and the girl blinked.

"Helen."

"Well, Helen," he snipped, "Who are you?"

"Who am I? But I just said my name is Helen. Isn't it silly to ask me who I am when I already told you?" the girl asked, she tilted her head curiously at him and looked over his uniform. Her eyes stopped at the R on his vest and she let out a little squeal of delight. "OH! You must be….Kid Flash!

This took him off guard. "What did you call me? Do I look like that idiot speedster?"

The girl, Helen, giggled and smiled at him, "I'm just teasing, you're Robin."

He nodded, true he was wearing his uniform, but that she knew who he was meant that she had to have been alive like him, and if he was dead, did that mean she was too? He really wasn't sure what to make of this girl, or whatever she was, and it was unnerving him.

Damian took another step back and the girl held up her hand.

"Please don't be scared, I'm not here to bother you, honestly I'm not."

"_Tech, _I'm not scared, and if you're not here to bother me then where are we? What do you want?" Damian asked again, his tone shifting to something with a hint of anger just below the surface. He didn't like games, didn't like the idea of being played with, and that's what it felt like the girl was doing with him.

"I…I don't know, to be honest," she said softly and stared at him. The confused look in her face told him that she was lost too. "I don't want anything, but…"

"But?" he inquired and crossed his arms, "Spit it out, I have no time for nonsense! I have to find a way out of here and get back to Batman; he's going to need me."

"But, I heard someone crying and came to see who it was," Helen told him and again took a step forward. Damian didn't move this time, there was sincerity in her voice, but he didn't let his guard down. She smiled when he didn't move again. "Do you know Nightwing? He's really awesome!"

"Of course I do, are you an idiot! I'm Robin, I _work with him!_" Damian told her and huffed. This girl was annoying, He tapped his fingers and flinched, they were still sore. She saw it and moved closer.

"Did you hurt your hand?"

"What?"

Helen pointed to his hand and Damian glanced down and saw the red stains of blood seeping through the green fabric top where his knuckles were.

"That?" she nodded and he shrugged, "that will heal."

"Well that's a good thing, but you shouldn't go hurting yourself," Helen told him. "Did you do that to yourself?"

"Do you always ask such questions, I'm fine," Damian told her; even though he was slightly glad that someone, even this weird girl, had actually cared something had happened to him.

Helen watched him a moment to see if he would say anything more, then shrugged her shoulders when he didn't. "So how did you get here?"

Damian sighed and snorted, "I don't know. I woke up here."

"Woke up here? Huh that's sort of like what happened to me, I guess." Helen muttered and he raised his eyebrows.

"You mean you don't know?" Damian questioned and she shook her head. He wondered if she had seen a flash too, but didn't voice the question.

She looked at him curiously and pointed to his face, "Your eyes are puffy."

"No there not," he started to say and reached up to touch his mask…if his mask had been there, which he had forgotten in the moment that he'd taken off. "_Tech_," with one quick motion he had the mask back on and glared at her from behind the lens.

"That better?" he asked and she shrugged at him. Damian huffed, "Annoying."

"So are you," Helen said simply and crossed her arms and again looked him over. She noticed the blood on his vest and the tear where the sword went in, adding while pointing, "You have a rip in your tunic."

"Yeah I know," Damian complained and turned away from her. "Look if you're not going to tell me where I am, I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" Helen looked confused again. "Where are you leaving too?"

"Anywhere but here!" He shouted at her and started to march off. For a moment he figured that she would just stay there, and he didn't care, but then he heard her call out to him and saw her following. Damian stopped and waited. He supposed to himself that she was the only other person there, and a part of him didn't want to be alone.

"If you're going to follow, you should learn to keep up."

"I was trying to decide if I should follow you or not." Helen admitted. She fixed her nightgown, and rubbed her shoulders. "It's so white here isn't it?"

"Yes Ms. Obvious, it is."

"Well you don't have to be so snippy about it. It was just an observation…"

"That anyone could make, even a moron."

"Says the one that forgot to put on his mask," Helen shot back and put her hands on her hips. "My Uncle Hal told me that Heroes always need to wear masks to make sure of their safety."

Damian started to roll his eyes and walk away with her following, when he paused and looked at her, "Your Uncle Hal?"

"That's right," she smiled at him brightly. "My Uncle Hal is a hero."

"Sure he is," Damian figured she was bluffing now. The name Hal was common, not heavily but it wasn't like there was a shortage of Hal's in the world either. The girl's Uncle could have been anyone; it didn't mean there was a connection to Hal Jordan of the Green Lanterns.

Helen pouted when he said this, "He is too."

"Believe what you want then." Damian waved his hand and turned her off. He had more important things to worry about then some little girl that only prattled on. For all he knew, and figured, she was just some sort of hallucination. He looked left and right then turned and headed to the left, with Helen following him.

"He is, for real he is," she kept talking and Damian shrugged, he wished he had his music to drown her talking out with. Maybe then he could think. "He flies through the air, and works with air planes and he's really smart at times."

"Fascinating," Damian retorted and stopped, "_Tech,_ we need to mark where we've been. Do you have anything on you?"

"No," she admitted and he glowered at her.

"Useless." Then turned and headed off again.

"I am not," Helen called back to him and Damian turned to face her.

"Yes you are. You've been prattling none stop about nonsense since you met me, and you don't know where we are. You don't even have something to mark the ground with either. You're useless."

"So are you," she snapped back and Damian crossed his arms. "You're being a sullen brat. You don't have a marker either, and you're supposed to be Robin. I'm starting to wonder if that's who you really are!"

"You're questioning me," he growled and she laughed.

"Yes, I am."

Damian threw up his hands. It would be one thing to punch a criminal that was female, but it was another thing to haul off and hit a girl, even though he wanted to. "You know I really want to stab you right now."

"Why?" Helen asked seriously and he snorted.

"To make you stay quiet."

She sighed, "You know there are nicer ways to ask me not to talk. I'm just trying to get to know you."

"I don't need you to get to know me; I need you to help me find a way to get out of this place." Damian told her and found himself in her face. He matched the intense stare of her blue eyes and she moved back from him, for once. "If you can't help me then there's no need for you to be here."

Helen sighed and sat down gloomily, "Fine I'll sit right here and be your marker. When you get lost and start crying again I'll come find you okay?"

"I wasn't crying!" he nearly screamed, but held back and marched away. The moment that he was out of her site Helen started to feel guilty. She'd snapped at him, like her Uncle had once when she had put herself in danger by splitting apart. It was funny; she had not expected Robin to be that bratty, or that short for that matter. Then again she felt weird around him, like he knew something she didn't, but she wasn't sure how to bring it up in conversation.

Helen leaned back and crossed her arms under her head to look up above her at the whiteness. She was sure she had walked in there, but when and how she didn't know. Closing her eyes Helen let her mind wander, but she couldn't quite get a feel of what to think about. Her mind felt cloudy and unsure. Then a small thought formed in her head.

_If there's no way out, can't we just make one?_ Helen sat up and smiled deciding when Robin came back she would tell him.


	4. Issue 1 Part 3: Camps and the JSA

**Flash Back: Issue 1 Part 3**

_copyright_: I own nothing, all characters belong to DC comics and their affliates

* * *

"This is rather lonely," Cassandra commented as she followed along after Wally who was running at a normal speed. He didn't want to exhaust the young woman that had come with him, but at the same time it seemed like she had no problem keeping pace. He nodded looking at all the white around them.

"Feels like we're in a sketch book, or a newly painted wall," he smirked at Black Bat. "No wonder it's easy for kids to mess up white walls, it's like a blank canvas."

"Yes, but this one seems to go on for miles. Where is the perimeter?" Cassandra asked and Wally motioned before him.

"Just ahead, we should be running into a few people soon. They've made a camp over there."

"A camp?"

"Yeah," he slowed some as she fell behind just a little and he compensated to give her a break. "Jessie Quick, er… Liberty Belle is acting as head of it. There are six so far as I've found each one seems to be comprised of civilians and well the rest are JSA, or JLA, Titans, and some independents."

"And rogues?" Cassandra inquired mentally noting that there was no terrain. No hills, no dips, just flat land with no change at all to the environment.

"Haven't seen them, but I'm sure that if we're here, they're here too. Bet they're just biding their time till someone figures out where we are," Wally told her as he slowed and stopped. Cassandra looked ahead, and took a moment to take in the view. In the distance she could make out a rainbow of color. People were milling around, talking, laughing even and the sound was welcoming. She could see the bright colors of the hero's uniforms and the casual dress of the civilians. It was a startling contrast to the all-white landscape that they had been running though.

"So this is the camp?" she asked and Wally nodded crossing his arms.

"Yeah, it's not much really when you look at it, but its home for a lot of people. Liberty Belle and Hour Man have been keeping the peace, this is mostly Justice Society turf, but there are a few former Leaguers in there."

Cassandra nodded, she understood this idea quiet well given her past. She'd found her own way in Blüdhaven, and then that was taken from her by Slade Wilson, who wanted nothing more than to spite Dick Grayson. She'd made a home there, found friends, people that cared about her, and then it was all taken in a whim. It had taken time, she'd changed and nearly destroyed things important to her, thankfully she'd come back from the brink. Thankfully she had a family to fall back on, they were dysfunctional at best, but they were family, not so for others.

Those that were here could understand the pain she had gone though. She was sure others had lost their families as well when they were taken here. People were searching for one another, wanting to be reunited; maybe she could find a way to help them. All she could do was try, Batman would tell her that if he were here. Batman wasn't here, but she did have Stephanie and that helped.

"It must be nice having friends in the same place," she said to Wally as they made their way towards the camp.

"Yeah, I'm sure it is. But that doesn't stop the problem of why we're here and not where we should be." He told her and Cassandra glanced at him.

"And where should we be?"

"Home, our home," he explained honestly. "Gotham, Keystone, Fawcett, our cities, our towns. We shouldn't be in this place, and we won't be if we can figure out what's going on. Right now though, all we can do is find solutions to the major questions: how we got here, who put us here, is spying on us, and who the girl we found is."

Cassandra gave a short nod in agreement. His body language told an additional story. Wally had not found his wife or children as of yet. Each day brought more people, and there were probably smaller camps that they had not found yet.

"We need to bring everyone together," she said to him as they came up to the makeshift entrance of the camp, which were a few weapons that had been set up as an arch way. Capes, shirts, and pieces of skirts and other material had been used to create a border around the camp. Cassandra saw children running around with one another; parents had marked off their spots to sleep with shoes and other goods that had come with them. People seemed genuinely happy, but in a slightly somber way.

"You're right, we do, but how do we do that when we don't know how many are really here," Wally told her as he waved hello to man that recognized him. Other people noticed them as they entered and some people were shouting out to Cassandra with "Black Bat! We love you!" She didn't know what to make of that. She'd only been wearing the costume for a while now, but apparently somehow her reputation had gotten out. She gave them a smile from under her mask and a little girl squealed with excitement saying that the Black Bat had smiled at her.

"They seem glad to see you," Wally said to her and Cassandra nodded. "Not used to that?"

"We don't normally let ourselves be seen," she explained and Wally chuckled.

"You need to get out more." He led her away from the entrance and towards the center of the camp. Here and there she saw faces of heroes that she knew, some were from the Inc. team and they waved at her, came over and talked for a moment to see if she knew anything about the situation. Shaking her head Cassandra wished them luck but told them where she was if they needed to find her.

In the center of the makeshift town the duo stopped when they saw a conclave of heroes going over what appeared to be several pieces of paper lined up side by side. To Cassandra it looked like a map, but she wondered where the paper had come from. The group of nine that sat in a circle that consisted of: Ted Grant, known better as Wildcat, his son Tom Bronson, who'd taken the name Tomcat, Rick Tyler (Hourman) and his wife Jessie Chambers (Liberty belle), JJ Thunder sat with Maxine Hunkle (Cyclone), while Dr. Midnight and Atom Smasher took the last two seats, with Sandman, his trench coats sleeve rolled up, pointing to some drawings on the paper.

The group seemed in intense conversations when Wally walked up and cleared his throat. Jessie raised her head first followed by Rick, and smiled.

"So why didn't anyone tell me about this party," he joked as Jessie stood up.

"We would have, if there'd been any way to send you an invite," she motioned with her head over to the group. "I assume you know most of the JSA members."

Wally waved and said a round of hellos, then quickly introduced Cassandra to the group, as Black Bat. Tommy gave her a quick smile, which she reciprocated but wasn't completely sure if he wasn't trying to flirt with her. Her attention turned back to Liberty Belle as she motioned for her and Wally to join them in their little, as Wally put it, 'Pow-wow' and the two sat down to look at the map that was drawn before them. Rick Tyler explained as he pointed things out to the two of them.

"Circles represent camps; in the center is our little camp. We sectioned off the different locations that we know of. Your group to the south of us, Sir Justin's encampment to the east and the west is Big Barda and Mr. Miracle's group. You said to the south of your camp is one run by The Question, Renee Montoya right? There's also the ones held by the Creeper and Jade and Obsidian, both are on the east and west edges." He motioned to the lines that crisscrossed the pages. "Based on location we've figured out how far each is, and roughly where people appeared, they've been showing up steadily farther out and migrating to the camps. Word is that there might be some more, farther out past the ones we know of. After that we started to gage the distance to how far a wall might be, and based on the Doctors math, it's not looking good."

"Not looking good?" Wally inquired and looked at Dr. Midnight who took a breath and explained.

"I triangulated the distance between here and where the possible end of this world is. There's no way to tell for certain, but judging by how our camps keep moving farther apart...the world is growing in size."

"You mean it's expanding?" Cassandra inquired softly and glanced at him, "But why?"

"Not sure, something seems to be effecting it though," Wildcat chimed in and waved his hand over the map. "I'm not totally sure on all of it, but it's enough to get me thinking that maybe it's time to try to centralize our groups and then work on a way of getting out of here."

"If things keep expanding there is a chance that, like anything that expands over time, it will start to wear and get thin…" Jesse told them and Wally clenched his jaw.

"And it could collapse on us, your right." He stood up. "Do you have a guess how far it is from here to the wall you mentioned?"

"No," Jesse admitted and crossed her arms. "But I'm willing to see if you are."

"Alright…" he looked at Cassandra. "Would you mind staying here? I'm going to take a quick trip."

"I'll be waiting," Cassandra told him and looked at the map. She wanted to stay to examine map anyway. Wally smiled at her then looked at Jesse who gave her husband Rick a quick kiss before heading off with him to the exit of the camp.

"You have a bad feeling about this don't you," Wally inquired to her and Jesse nodded.

"This place, it doesn't feel bad, but some-things going on that we just can't explain. I've been trying to work out with Rick and the others a way to test what this place is made of."

"And?"

"Nothing so far, everything we would need is gone," Jesse admitted a scowl coming to her naturally sweet face. "We're going to need to figure out if the magic users can do anything, as far as we know most powers work at least for the physical aspect."

"So we should assume that the magic one works too. The fact that we can even tap into the speed force is surprising," Wally noted as they got to the gate. "Race you there?"

Jesse smiled, "Your on…3X2(9YZ)4A!"

In an instant both speedsters were off and running away from the camp and into the unknown wilds of Limbo.


	5. Issue 1 Part 5: Learning to Play

**Flash Back Issue 1 Part 4**

_AN: Thanks for the reviews, I really wish I knew how to do panel scripting and how to draw about now._

_Copyright: I own nothing, DC owns everything._

* * *

Helen watched as he walked back and forth in all four directions. First he went left to the west, then came back looking rather perplexed, then he walked off to the right and she waited for what felt like hours until he came back again a glower fixed on his young face. Damian gave her a heated stare when she started to say something, but the look made her go silent as he headed up and north, then down and south, in both cases he returned looking dejected, angry and clearly confounded.

"Any luck finding an exit?" she asked sitting across from him, tucking her knees inside her nightgown. Damian snorted as he looked up at her.

"If I had," he said his tone dripping with sarcasm, "I would have already left here, wouldn't I."

"Unless you were being nice and coming back for me," she pointed out with a smile, to which he made a '_tech'_ sound to. Her smile fell just a little, "I take it that's a no."

"Well I don't know what or who you are, so I can't rightly drag you off with me in case you're really some sort of threat. That would be irresponsible of me, don't you think," he countered and she thought for a moment conceding.

"You're right."

This made him raise an eyebrow, "Well of course I am."

"About not knowing me, sure, but the other part of me being a threat, you can't rightly tell either way unless you let me out. And if I turned out not to be a threat, then you would be guilty of leaving an innocent person behind, and that's not what heroes do right?"

His brows furrowed at her as she grinned at him.

"You're so weird."

"Well so is everyone I suppose," Helen said and then rubbed her chin. "So no luck with a door then at all?"

"No."

They sat in silence then, both thinking, and Damian considered the option of staying in the strange world forever. He didn't like it, but it was better than seeking out a door and discovering he couldn't leave. Then he wondered about his father, how he was doing. How long had he been dead? An hour, two hours, and who had his body as of that moment? Were they going to try to revive him? If they did would it be him, or another him that wasn't in this world? He wondered if this was the gateway to heaven, like some of the assassins' spoke of, those that believed in higher powers and all that. He'd never understood it, and at the moment he wished he had, maybe then all this whiteness would make sense.

"So I was thinking…" her voice cut into his musings and agitated him.

"You? Thinking? Really now," he quipped and then tried to drown her out once more.

"Yes, I was thinking about something my mother told me."

He waved a finger around in a circle in the air as if to say 'Big whoop.' "So what did you're mother tell you?"

"Well I don't know if I want to tell you now," Helen frowned at him. Damian shrugged, and crossed his arms.

"Alright then, don't tell me."

"Fine, but if you're stuck here, that's not my fault."

He glanced at her, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, if I know a way out, and you don't want to know of it, and I get out and you don't, it's not my fault that you won't listen to me." Helen stood up and crossed her arms looking down at him. Damian frowned and stood up.

"You don't know anything. If you really had a way out of here, then why haven't you left?"

"I don't know, maybe I like your company."

"My company," he laughed out loud as if that was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "You sound like an old woman."

"And you sound like a selfish brat."

Damian shook his head; she was annoying but amusing in a way. He gave her a smirk, "You're making things up."

"What?"

"You're lying to me," he countered and waved his hands at the nothing. "If you really could do something you would have done it by now. But you haven't, so clearly you don't know what you're talking about."

Helen bit her lip, "Are you the type that has to see something to believe in it?"

"What?"

"I asked…."

"I heard what you asked," he sat back down and waited for her to do something. "And I don't know. Show me something and I'll tell you."

"I can't just show you it," she said and rubbed her neck. "You know the saying when one door closes a window opens?"

"I've heard it once or twice by people that I've run into at events," he told her not wanting to go into details. "It means that there's always another opportunity. What does that have to do with getting out of here?"

"Well there's another saying," Helen sat back down and looked at him. "If you can't find a door make one."

"Make one?" he raised a brow at this and snorted. "Same as the other saying, it just means that you have to make your own path."

"Exactly," she clasped his hands in hers and he pulled away fast. She felt cool and warm at the same time, like a spring breeze, solid enough but there was something ethereal about her touch and he didn't like it. She seemed to wave off the reaction. "So what if we take that to its logical conclusion."

Damian sniffed and stood up looking around, "What? Make a path?"

"No a door silly," Helen remarked jumping up and looking around. He waved his hands as he spun in all directions.

"How do you make a door when there's nothing to make it against? Look around you, there's no walls at all."

"There's a floor…." She smiled as he met her eyes again.

"Well yeah there's a floor…." He stopped and blinked, and then a smirk came on his face. "A floor we can make a door against."

"Bingo!" she laughed and for once he smiled, just for an instant. If they could make a door on the floor, there could be a way out of there. True he had no intention of taking her with him, but her help would be useful.

"So what would we need to make a door?" He searched himself for his batarangs, even a blade of an exacto-knife that he kept in his belt, "Something to cut an image of it with right?"

No reply came in return and Damian looked up. Helen had moved away from him, walking slowly and looking at the ground. He followed, calling out to her, still she didn't respond until she stopped at a spot and pointed down.

"Here," she said and crouched. "Here's where the door should go."

Damian blinked and crouched with her. "And you know this how?"

"Just a feeling," she responded and placed her index finger on the floor.

"Are you trying to mark it out with your finger?" he knelt down beside her and she nodded. "You know you could just cut it and use blood right?"

"Now where's the fun in that? Can't you use your imagination?" Helen said and ran her finger along the floor making a squeaking sound.

For a second there was nothing there, and then, to Damian's surprise a glowing aqua colored calligraphy line formed where her finger moved. The line swirled out creating a handle as she traced a large door in the floor. He didn't dare to speak as hinges formed on the edges and the outline of wooden planks appeared on the body of the square. Within minutes there was a full sized trapped door made out of glowing lines before Damian. He felt his jaw go slack, but quickly covered it up with a '_tech_'. He'd seen tricks before from criminals, but this was the first time he'd ever seen anyone magic a door out of nothing. Normally there had to be words or a wand involved, some sort of focus item, there was nothing here for her to use.

Helen looked up at him and grinned. "Ta-da! And there is our way out."

"You're sure on that."

"Pretty sure."

He crossed his arms, "Either you're sure or you're not sure."

"Well I'm pretty sure it's gonna get us out of here, I don't know where we'll end up though."

"You don't?" He reconsidered using it. If she didn't know where they were going they could land up anywhere.

"Well yes and no."

Damian threw up his hands. "Do you know what you're doing or not!"

"Yes."

"Then where are we going?"

"Home, I think."

"Home you think?!" he was more than just annoyed now. "I knew it I shouldn't have trusted you."

"Robin, just give it a chance, please," she offered as he was turning to leave. Damian stopped as she went on. "Look it's better than being here, and I know that if you come with me I'm sure we can both find out what's going on."

He turned and looked at her, "And how do I know I can trust you?"

Helen paused and thought for a second, then held out her hand to him.

"If I screw up, you can leave me behind."

"We don't do that." He said shortly.

"Okay you can call me an idiot all you want."

This he considered and looked around at the white nothing. What choice did he have? Stay forever in the blinding light, or go with the crazy girl that seemed to have a way out. He sniffed and walked back over by her.

"I must be nuts to trust you," he muttered and reached down to grasp the handle. To his amazement it felt solid and when he pulled the door open it had weight. Helen jumped in to help him push it up and both saw a set of stairs going down with a cord attached to the handle on the other side. Damian glanced up and her and smirked, "Ladies first."

Helen nodded, feeling it was fair enough since she did apparently make it, and hopped onto the steps. They shook slightly but then steadied and Damian leapt onto them as well. With a yank he closed the door and the two made their way down the metal like steps to a stone landing. Below was a spiral staircase, that Damian took the lead in first. He glanced back to see the first set of steps vanish into a dark star filled sky.

"Where did the door go?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted and waved her hand down. "Lead on Robin hood."

"_Tech_," he rolled his eyes behind his mask. "Do I look like Green Arrow?"

"Well I heard that's where the name Robin comes from. An adventurer with great skills robs from the wealthy and corrupt gives to those who are in need of help."

"Sounds like…" he stopped before he said, 'my dad' and changed it to, "Batman."

"He probably took some aspects of the character I'm sure." She smiled as they carefully made their way down the stairs until Damian stopped and sniffed the air. It was cool, dry, and had a sandy smell to it. Helen bumped into him, "What is it?"

"Don't you smell that?"

"Smell what?" she inquired and sniffed the air. He waited to see her reaction, and it wasn't one he was expecting. She smelled the air again, and her face became contorted. "I…know that smell."

"You do? It smells like the desert." Damian said as she pushed past him and started to take the steps two at a time, "Hey get back here!"

He raced after her running at full speed as she galloped her way down the steps, her hair flying behind her as if she were running for her life. By the time he made it to the ground Helen was already there, hands in the sand. Damian looked around in wonder. They were in a desert, one he'd only seen on tv, it was somewhere in the west around Utah or Nevada, he wasn't sure which. In the distance he could make out a road, and there were cacti and rocks all over the place. Looking over at Helen he found her getting up and letting the sand run from her fingers.

"I know this place…" she whispered, trembling.

"Well that's good," Damian pointed to the road, "We should head for that road and see if...Hey!"

She darted away from him, away from the road and for a second he hesitated in following her, but ultimately did so. Running after her he noticed the changing landscape. There were larger boulders here, rocks that seemed oddly out of place, as if moved from another location. The sky was still dark, but there was a tint of light on the horizon. He wondered if they would need to camp out and certainly they needed water. Helen though didn't slow down, and soon he was wondering if she was just going to get them lost.

"Where are you going!" he yelled at her and she paused only to say.

"Over the hill," then darted off at a sprint, he growled and followed her up the hill. His body ached from the fight, and now with all the running he was becoming exhausted. When he slowed however and met her on the hill he stood in awe. Below them was a strange temple of rocks and columns. Pieces from places all over the world had come together in such a way as to create some sort of building that had no real rhyme or reason. There was no roof to it, but it seemed like the stars themselves were the cover to the strange bastion. At the very top was an archway that was filled with light and a long set of stairs that rose to meet it.

"Is that what you were looking for?" he asked her and Helen nodded. "Well now that we found it, what are you going to do?"

She smiled at him once more, then slid down the embankment and Damian let out an exasperated sigh, only to follow her down. He ran at a slower jog as she called back to him, taking in what he saw and trying to process where he was. Heads with strange faces stared out at him, neither angry nor joyful. The sand felt real, as did the air and the grit that stung his face from the winds, but everything seemed unearthly here. Damian ran up the stairs, following Helen as quickly as he could. Each step felt surer then the last, though a part of him was uncertain as to where the archway at the top led to. As soon as he set foot against a paved archway he felt himself being dragged into the temple. Grinding his feet against the ground he tried to resist, but to no avail and Damian was soon being sucked inside.

He found himself planted, face down, on the soft earthen floor. Groaning some from the sudden pull he pushed himself up and looked around. The inside was just as weird, if not more so, than the outside. They were in a circular room that seemed to lead off into all directions, including a set of stairs that went up into who knew where. Standing he started to examine the place, and pick up things as he found them. The majority was rocks from different countries and possibly buildings, those he tossed aside and moved farther in.

In the center he found an old airplane pilot chair with marks on it. Damian walked around it, running his fingers over the sides, looking for something to give him a clue what he was looking at. The only thing he found was the name Jordan, written on the side.

"Jordan," he muttered, the only Jordan he knew of was the Green Lantern his father worked with, but why would a pilot chair be in the middle of this strange place? He stepped back and stopped when he heard the sound of his boot hitting something glass. Turning around, and looking down, Damian found himself staring into amber mirrors that lay in a circle on the floor. He reached to touch one, as it seemed to call to him, when Helen's voice shouted out to him.

"I wouldn't touch that!"

Damian paused and pulled back, then looked up at her. She was on the stairs and watching him.

"That's my uncle Hal's mirrors, I think."

"Your Uncle Hal's mirrors? What does he need mirrors for?" He moved back from them as she waited on the steps and drummed her fingers against the railing.

"I can't…really remember. I mean…it's fuzzy. I know that they can see things, but I wish I could tell you more. All I know is that he was the one that controlled them."

Damian walked over to her glancing back at the ovular amber disks on the floor. They radiated with something that he couldn't quite figure out. He decided he would have to investigate them further when she wasn't around.

"Well if he has control of them, where is he?"

"I don't know right now. Last time I saw him he was with my Uncle Jim." She started up the steps as he got to them. Climbing after, Damian '_tech'ed,_ and looked down, then up.

"You don't seem to know much about your family either. Where does this lead?"

"Upstairs."

"Obviously," he hurried up following her until they were in a hallway with a myriad of doors. Each was painted a different color and he wasn't sure which to open first. Looking back at Helen, who seemed to be shaking her head as she reached for one of the doors, he asked, "Do you know where these go?"

"Most are to bedrooms, I think." Helen explained as Damian opened one and was startled to see a nice room with a simple bed, a window that looked out into the stars, and a bed side table with a lamp and some books to read. He closed it and went to another only to be hit by a wash of water that came off a beach, which was beyond the door. Shutting it he looked at Helen who covered a giggle, "And some probably open up to someplace else."

"You could have warned me sooner." Damian huffed and decided against opening more doors lest something nasty pop out of them, although he didn't feel like anything would. The strange temple was comforting in a way, but there was still that uneasy feeling he got from it.

"Would you have listened to me?"

"Yes," he admitted and she thinned her lip looking a bit embarrassed. He pulled at his glove. "Never mind that, what are you looking for?"

"My room." She admitted.

"Your room?"

"Yes, I know it's around here…" Helen was saying when she paused and shivered. There was a door at the very end of the hall that seemed to have a dark aura around it. At first Damian wasn't sure why she had stopped talking, he couldn't see the blackness that oozed out at them, but he soon felt it, and a shudder ran down his refurbished spine.

"What's in there?"

"I…I don't know, and I don't want to know." Helen told him and he snorted.

"Why not? It's just a door."

"You don't see that stuff coming out of it?"

"No," he admitted and walked towards it. A little creepy feeling wasn't about to stop him from his investigation. Reaching for the door he pulled it open a smidge to see a dark room with a ball in the center, and a man in white curled up and grinning like a fool. Damian shuddered at the sight and didn't resist when Helen tugged him back shouting.

"Don't go in there!" He was yanked back with full force, the door shut and seemed to seal itself again. Shaking her off Damian turned to face the girl and found her pale and trembling. "Don't go in there. That's a room my Uncle never let me in. There's…there's something bad in there. I don't want to see it."

"Do you know there's a man in there?" he asked astonished by her reaction and Helen seemed to nod then shake her head. Damian frowned, "Which is it, yes or no?"

"It's both…I…I kind of remember there being a man, a nasty man, but I don't know who he is…I can't remember. I…I just want to find my room. Please Robin!"

There were tears in her eyes, and as curious as he was Damian didn't want to make the girl cry. She'd helped him so far, and it wouldn't be fair, at least that would be what Richard would tell him. Tentatively he patted her shoulder with a, "We'll go look for your room. No need to cry about it."

Helen smiled some, wiping the tears from her eyes, "Thank you."

Damian gave a slight nod and returned to looking at the various doors. Instead of opening them he would put his ear to it and when he heard a sound that seemed strange he would move to the next rather than tempt being attacked, or covered in something that was lying in wait.

"This is useless, we're not getting anywhere," he was saying when Helen's scream made him slam the door he had just opened (which was yet another simple bedroom) and race down to where she was. Damian skidded to a halt in front of the door and gawked at Helen who was jumping up and down on a bed.

The room had no ceiling, or floors, or even walls for that matter, just endless night skies filled with stars. But there had to be one, Damian decided since there was a pink rug on the floor, and a bed and dresser that sat on solid ground. He carefully stepped in the room as Helen bounced off the bed and grinned waving her hands around as if she were a showroom attendant.

"Welcome to my bedroom. This is the only room I remember."

"Well that's great, now how about we find a way to get me back to where I belong." Damian stated and walked over to her. "Was this all a game to you?"

"No, no it wasn't," Helen said and looked around, then went over to her dresser. Damian sniffed as he followed.

"What now?" He watched as she pulled down some wood dolls. Turning to show him, Damian stared at the odd whittled toys, which were dressed as heroes he recognized. Most were members of the Justice League, seven in total: Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the other two he hadn't met but heard of, that being Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter. She held out Flash to him and he pushed her hand away. "What are you doing?"

"Playing," she admitted. "Don't you want to be the Flash?"

"No, I don't," Damian snapped. He didn't have time for this; he needed to get home, back to his Father and…._family_. The only one he had left. His mother had made it clear to him that she no longer wanted him, and his replacement was more than enough to run her organization. He needed to get back and stop that…_thing_ that called itself his brother. Drake was more of a brother then it was.

"Okay then," she put the doll away and pulled out the one that looked like Batman, "then you can be Batman."

He angrily slapped the toys from her hands and Helen yelped, "Hey! You'll break them."

"I don't want to be Batman! I…I just want to be me! I'm tired of your lies and tricks! Who are you!" he shouted at her. "Tell me!"

"I told you, my name is Helen!" she yelled back and picked up the dolls one at a time, "And Superman gave them to me."

"No he didn't!"

"Yes he did!" she set them back gently on her dresser, "For my birthday when I turned nine, he did so. I met him, and Wonder Woman…" she went over to the dresser and picked up a snow globe. "She gave this to me."

Inside was what looked like a miniature island with temples from Greece. Damian reached out to push it away but to his shock he found himself inside the city. Stumbling to get his balance he looked around, confused by all the statues of Amazons that stood before him. Paved streets, which were deserted, stretched out around him and he found that the stones of the temples were just as real and hard when he tapped on them.

"Where am I?" He shouted out and Helen's voice came back as an echo.

"Themyscira, I think, it's also known as Paradise Island."

"How…How am I here?" Damian called out and looked around for Helen as her voice reverberated all over.

"You're not, not really. It's just an illusion of sorts."

"And how do I get out then?"

"Blink," she said and he wrinkled his brow.

"Blink?"

"Yes, blink your eyes slowly."

"_Tech,_ and I should trust this why?" He countered as he climbed up some steps. "There are doors here…"

"That will lead into rooms. That's about all, the only way to leave is to blink," Helen told him from above. Damian looked up at the sky; it was clear with just the hint of clouds, but no sign of Helen at all. The place felt very real, and, he realized, that the longer he stayed the more likely he would come to believe it to be real. Taking a breath he closed his eyes blinking slowly and when he opened them he was back in Helen's room with her.

"So you're a magic user then?"

Helen put the globe back, "I'm not sure just yet. I'm starting to remember things."

"I don't trust you, you know this right."

"Yeah I know," she said softly and then picked up a crystal elephant and a feather. "From…someone…a nanny, I think, and this was from an angel. I just wish I could remember everything."

Damian put his hands on the foot board of the bed, "Alright, look I'm trying to understand what's going on here, but I'm not getting it."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"So where are we?" He inquired again, hoping that he could get an answer that made sense.

"My home," she picked up a bow and arrow, trying to aim and shoot. He watched as she managed to get the suction cup stuck to the door and as she tried to pull it off, he walked over and yanked down, pealing it from the wood with a _pop,_ then handed it to her, "Thank you."

"This doesn't make any sense," he repeated and again Helen smiled to him. "So you're saying that Wonder Woman gave you that…globe right? So who gave you the arrow set?"

"Green Arrow."

"Sure, and the picture over there," he motioned to a small framed photo on her dresser which Helen went to. She picked it up carefully and examined it, then reached behind and drew a yellow card out with a bat symbol on it. Holding it up to him, she grinned.

"Batman."

"That's impossible!" Damian shouted and went over taking the card from her. He flipped it over and saw the writing; it was his Father's scrawl with a simple, "Happy Birthday Helen" on it. Damian ran it over and over in his mind. How could this even be possible given that he'd never heard his father mention this girl? He glanced over at Helen, "Where did that picture come from?"

"My house," she explained sitting on her bed looking at the picture for a moment, her finger tips running over the frame. "It was the day my family went to the beach. That's my mom and dad, Janice and Jack Jordan, I'm in the middle right there."

Damian moved over to get a better look, the couple and the girl were on a beach, and he assumed that was where the strange door with the water had come from. Sitting down he sighed and put his head in his hands, "How can any of this be real? I don't understand it at all."

Helen looked up from the picture and a sad twist slipped onto her lips. She was worried about him. This Robin was being thrown into so much and it was her fault. The least she could do was help him cheer up. She stood, slipping carefully off the bed, brought the dolls back over and held out Aquaman this time to him. Damian looked up and carefully wiped the tears off his face from under the mask.

"You can be Aquaman if you want?" she offered softly and this time he took it. Holding the toy in his hand he sighed slightly. Somewhere in the back of his mind a voice told him that he should play, but he didn't know how.

"So what do we do with these?" He asked joining her on the floor of the room. Helen smiled; this was something she could explain to him.

"Well we pretend. We make up a story, and have the heroes save the day." She looked at Damian who furrowed his brows. Helen tried not to laugh, and focused her attention on showing what she meant. "Here, I'll show you."

He watched, curiously, as she took the Flash doll and made a _zoooom_ noise as she moved the doll across the floor. Her voice was lower as she spoke, trying to sound like a guy, he assumed, "I'm the Flash! I'm the fastest man alive and I protect the city of Keystone! Oh no! Captain Cold is trying to freeze the whole town! What can I do?!"

"You try to stop him," Damian said and Helen chuckled.

"Well yeah, but don't tell me that. Tell it to him."

"He's a doll."

"Pretend he's not," she changed her voice again, and pulled out some other dolls, not wooden but more like plastic figures that came with happy meals. Damian watched as she picked out a blue alien with drawn on sun glasses and made her voice whine out, "I'm Captain Cold! No one's ever going to stop me! I'm going to Freeze this city and make it winter in July! That'll show those heroes!"

"Oh no you don't, Captain Cold," Flash said rushing in, "I will stop you!"

"No you won't, _Perrrzack!" _Cold waved his gun at the Flash and Helen balanced him against her foot. "There now you're frozen and can't stop me! Hahahahaha!"

"Oh No! What can I do? I know I'll call my friends for help! The Justice League will help me." The Flash said and Helen looked at him. Damian raised an eyebrow and she poked at his leg. "It's your turn."

"My turn?"

"Yeah, Flash called for help, so you need to have Aquaman come help him," Helen explained and he looked at the wooden doll then back at the strange scene she had created.

"By doing what?"

"Using water and his powers, duh," Helen pointed out as she had Cold walk around freezing things. "The longer you wait the more trouble Keystone is in, and a Justice League Member would never leave a friend in the lurch, right?"

Damian wanted to just throw the doll down and march straight out of the room. The game was stupid, the whole thing was stupid, but…it was better than wandering around and not knowing which way to turn. So, letting out a long sigh, he cleared his throat and said, "I am Aquaman, the lord of the sea and king of Atlantis…"

"With more feeling," Helen corrected him. Damian stared at her.

"What?"

"You have to give it more feeling," She explained and picked up the Green Lantern doll. "Look he's the king of the sea's right? He's a noble, he'd be proud of that fact, and um…he can command the water and the animals in the sea, so…So you have to make him sound kingly and strong."

"Kingly and strong?" he parroted then tried again making his voice louder and more serious, "I am Aquaman, King of Atlantis and ruler of the Seven Seas!"

Helen laughed and Damian scowled, "Are you laughing at me?"

"No that was good! Keep going."

"Uh…" he paused not sure what to say and she took over with Cold.

"Ah you're friend has come Flash! But he's no match for my cold ray! Take that Fish-face!"

"Fish-face," Damian chuckled lightly and smirked, "Is that the best you can do?"

"Well I could have said Tuna-breath, but that seemed a bit weak."

"I could think of a few better ones, but we'll go with that," he said and thought a moment. "How would he handle Cold? I don't know a lot about Aquaman to be honest, other than what Batman's reports say."

"Well, do what you think would be best?" Helen suggested. Damian glanced at her, waiting for some sort of idea, and when one didn't come he went with the first thought in his head.

"You're ray may work on water that stands still, but not the running kind!" Aquaman shouted at Cold. "And then a wall of water came crashing down around the city."

"But wouldn't that mean there would be a flood?" Helen asked and Damian scowled.

"Do you want me to do this or not?"

"Well yes…"

"Then there's a wall of water," he told her and quickly added, "But there was only enough to flood the street that Cold was on."

"Oh no I'm all wet! You'll pay for this Aquaman!" Cold snapped as Helen had the Green Lantern doll come down. "Not so fast Cold, I'm the Green Lantern and I'm here to help the Flash too!"

"Aquaman, Green Lantern, am I glad to see you two!" Flash said as Green Lantern came over to him.

"No worries Flash. Aquaman seemed to have Cold all washed up," Lantern's doll turned to the Aquaman one and commented, "Say Aquaman, if you want to handle Cold, I'll work on this ice block that has Flash trapped."

"Can't he just vibrate out?" Damian asked and Helen looked up.

"Vibrate out?"

"Well that's what he can do," Damian explained. "Flash can vibrate fast enough to get out of the ice…" He paused when he saw her grinning. "Why are you smiling like that, it makes you look dumb."

"You're having fun."

"Am not."

"Whatever you say," Helen said and added, "And the ice is special, so he's going to need his friends to help him out."

"How can you have _special ice?_" Damian inquired and she pouted.

"How can you not," Cold then went into an all-out attack on Aquaman which he fended off using his trident. Eventually Green Lantern had the Flash out and the two joined in to help Aquaman, but then the Weather wizard, the Cheetah, and several other villains came to aid Captain Cold.

"So what do they do now?" Helen asked and Damian looked at the remaining heroes and picked up Batman.

"Call in for reinforcements, of course."

"Of course," she grinned and picked up the Wonder Woman doll. Time seemed to wander as the two children played on the floor. Damian was not completely sure he understood it, but a part of him, a very small part, was enjoying it. Unfortunately his body didn't and soon enough he was leaning against the footboard of the bed. They had defeated the Injustice league, but Helen could tell he was tired.

"Do you want to lie down?" she asked picking up the toys and putting them away.

"Where would I sleep?" he asked and she motioned to her bed.

"A girl's bed?"

"Is that a problem?" Helen asked hands on her hips. He shook his head and got up.

"Not my fault if it stinks later, I haven't had the chance to take off my boots till now."

Helen wrinkled her nose as he took off his boots and giggled, "You sound like my Uncle Hal. He always complained that his boots smelled weird after work."

"_Tech_," was all Damian said as he fell to sleep under the covers.


End file.
